Removing Roadblocks to Success

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." (Henry Ford)

Everyone encounters roadblocks on the path to success; some are personal, some are external. Personal obstacles, those within your control, include a lack of: time management, self-esteem, communication skills, drive, expertise, or education.  You may have loosely defined goals.  You may be focussing on what you don't want rather than what you do want.  You may be resistant to change. You may have internal conflict holding you back.  Brian Tracy points out that you may be living in a comfort zone, where you are so complacent with your job or your relationship with your significant other, that you are reluctant to change, even if it is for the better.  

External obstacles, those out of your control, include:  the economy, competition, location of jobs, lack of support and stereotyping.  

Here are some steps to follow when you encounter roadblocks:

1.  Identify the obstacle.

2.  Brainstorm what you can do about it.

3.  Seek advice from experts, confidantes.

4.  Choose the solution that is best for you.

5.  Write down your plan.

6.  Set a time frame.

7.  Act.

Your attitude is everything in your attempt to leap over any hurdle.  See it as an opportunity for growth.  As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said:  "Life's a journey, not a destination."  Enjoy the ride. 

Be willing to negotiate.  It certainly helped John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962! The President's willingness to negotiate helped prevent World War III.  

Ask yourself how committed you are to the goal in the first place.  Where there's a will, there's a way. If it's something you really want, you'll make it happen.  Again, as I said in yesterday's post, your passion will drive you forward.

For more information, read Overcoming Roadblocks:  Removing Roadblocks on the Journey to Your Success (Andrew Neilsen) at http://www.ebooks4free.us/197/book9781502751249.htm.

      

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Measure Your Success

"What gets measured gets done." (Peter Drucker)

If you have been following my posts this month, I am focussing on goal setting and achieving, something Brian Tracy talks about in his book Goals:  How to Get Everything You Want -- Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible.  If you want to learn more about how to set goals, visit my post "Chasing Butterflies vs. Digging for Gold" at http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2015/01/chasing-butterflies-vs-digging-for-gold.html.  

Once you have set your goals and put your plan into practice, you need to measure your goals.  One blogger suggests the following:

1.  Track your daily goals at IDoneThis, an e-mail based productivity log started in 2011.

2.  Join a goal setting website like www.goal-buddy.com (set your goal; build new habits; manage your tasks).

3.  Use the Seinfeld Method.  Keep a daily calendar in which you check off every day that you complete your goal.  A chain of checks starts to develop.  Try not to break the chain.  Visit here for a Don't Break the Chain Calendar:  http://www.writersstore.com/dont-break-the-chain-calendar.

4.  Keep a journal.  If you are working towards something intangible, like being more content, journaling is a good forum for showing the progression of your daily feelings and state of mind.

5.  Schedule a weekly dinner with your family, friends or colleagues to review your weekly goals.  Accountability goes a long way.

6.  Schedule a monthly review of your monthly goals.  Are you focussing on your major goal?  What are you goals for the following month?

7.  Assign each goal a measurable unit ex. chore chart with tasks and time allotments; a chart to spend more time with your family ex. weekly date night with spouse; # of activities with children.

8.  Other ways to measure your goals are:  rate your goal achievement on a scale of 1 to 10 (very unsatisfied/unhappy versus very satisfied/happy).  Assign a monetary value to your goal ex. If you don't follow your plan one week, you give so much money to charity.  

9.  Each month ask yourself:  Whether the goal is still worth pursuing.  How you're doing?  What action steps are needed to bring you closer to your goal?

Note:  There is a difference between tracking your goals, recording what you have done, and measuring your goals, calculating how far you've progressed towards your goal.

For more information, visit http://www.wisebread.com/get-it-done-how-to-measure-your-goals.

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How to Become an Expert in Your Field

"Be all that you can be." (United States Army motto)

An Ivy League study concluded that it takes 1000 hours to become an expert in any given field. However, in Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers, he begs to differ.  He quotes a study conducted by Berlin's Academy of Music which followed three groups of musicians.  Group one was called the elite group, group two was the good group and group three was the average group.  For fifteen years, from age 5 to 20, the musicians practiced.  Group one practiced for 10,000 hours, group two for 8,000 hours and group three for 4,000 hours.

Only the elite group members were considered to be worthy of the term "expert".  As Malcolm Gladwell concluded, 1000 hours qualifies you as "efficient", but 10,000 hours qualifies you as "genius".  The moral of the story is:  Practice, practice, practice.  Becoming an expert is not a quick process, but a lengthy one.

Bobby Fischer, world chess champion from 1972 to 1975, took nine years to perfect the game. Author Pierre Berton spent a lifetime writing newspaper and magazine articles as well as 50 history books, qualifying him as a Canadian history expert.  According to Julia Child, if you want to "master the art of French cooking", you need to start by trying the 524 recipes in her first cookbook.  Even if each recipe only took an hour to follow, that's over 500 hours.  

When I think of an expert, my grandad comes to mind.  In Grade 7, he wrote a math test in which he received a poor grade.  His teacher posted it on the black board and mocked him.  Grandad vowed to get revenge on his teacher by becoming a math expert.  He devoted hours to mastering the subject.  In Grade 8 his math marks slowly improved. In high school, he started to receive A's.  He majored in math in university where he graduated with Honours in both Math and Physics.

Teacher's College followed.  During a recession in the mid-1920's, Grandad was offered not one but three math teaching positions in Toronto high schools.  He was promoted to the Head of the Mathematics Department.  He taught for forty years for the Toronto Board of Education and became an expert not just in math, but in teaching.  With his perfect geometrical shapes, the Ontario Education Inspector said that he had the "neatest blackboards in Ontario" -- not bad for a boy who couldn't even pass a basic math test.    

If you want to become an expert in your field like my grandad, here are ten tips offered by Brian Tracy:

1.  Commit to excellence.  As someone once said:  "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well."

2.  Be a lifelong learner.  Upgrade your knowledge and skills regularly.

3.  Turn driving time into learning time.  The average driver spends 500 to 1000 hours in the car. Listen to audiotapes.  You'll be well on your way to becoming "efficient" in your field.

4.  Attend workshops.  A one day workshop can give you valuable tips.

5.  Identify the key skills you need to become an expert.

6.  Practice those skills daily.

7.  Be observant like a journalist.  Being observant helps you learn.  It also helps you network.  You may be in the right place at the right time with the right person to create the right opportunity.

8.  Read a book a week in your subject area.  That translates into 50 books a year and 500 books in ten years.  

9.  Be passionate about your subject.  My grandad always recommended that to me as a teacher.  Passion is infectious; it translates to your students.  Passion brings you closer to the title "expert".  As cardiologist Dr. Mani says on his website:  "Passion fuels expertise which in turn keeps passion  burning."  

10.  Find a mentor.  We all look up to someone.  Pierre Berton's mentor was News-Herald editor Jack Scott.  He patterned his early newspaper columns after Jack's.  Bobby Fischer's mentor was Carmine Nigro of the Brooklyn Chess Club.  The young chess protege would come to his house for games every weekend for two or three years.  Julia Child studied under the tutelage of the great French chef Max Bugnard in Paris in the early 1950's.  

For more information, read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.

Chasing Butterflies vs. Digging for Gold

"Realize what you really want.  It stops you from chasing butterflies and puts you to work digging gold."  (William Moulton Marsden)





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In his book Goals:  How To Get Everything You Want -- Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible, author Brian Tracy references a study conducted on a group of Harvard MBA graduates in 1979.  One group upon graduation did not have any specific goals (84%).  The second group had goals, but did not write them down (13%).  The third group wrote down their goals (3%). Ten years later, a follow up study was conducted.  It turned out that the second group, who had goals, was making twice the amount of money of the first group, who was goalless.  The third group, however, who had written down their goals, was making ten times the money of the first two groups!

Brian Tracy says there are seven keys to goal setting:

1.  Goals must be clear, specific and detailed.  Vague statements like:  "I'm going to be a happier person" will not be beneficial to you.  Goals must be written down.  The act of writing it down helps transform what might seem like a pipe dream into a realistic goal.

2.  Goals must be measurable and objective.  A third party should be able to evaluate them.

3.  "Attaching a deadline to each goal is like ending a statement with an exclamation mark!" says Brian Tracy.  A deadline keeps you dedicated to the task at hand.  Goals can be set at one week, one month, six months, one year or five years.  Daily goal setting is also recommended.

4.  Goals should be challenging.  They must take you a bit out of your comfort zone.  At the same time, they should be attainable (50% probability rate).

5.  Goals must be in harmony with your values and with your other goals.  For example, building a successful business and playing golf every afternoon do not go hand in hand.

6.  Goals should be balanced among the many aspects of your life:  career, family, finances, health, spiritual life, community involvement.  A well rounded person is a more happy and fulfilled person.

7.  You must have a major purpose for your life.  You must have one goal that strives towards this purpose.  As you move towards the one major goal, you will likely find yourself achieving the smaller ones as well.

It's up to you how you want to organize your goals, whether in list form or as a chart.  You can write them on a calendar or on multi-coloured notepad paper.  You can save them on your cell phone or IPod or tuck them away in a secret drawer.  I would recommend that you keep them somewhere that is easily accessible and visible to you.  If they are handwritten, use pencil just in case you need to made changes or additions.   Brian Tracy suggests that you revisit your goals frequently to see how you are progressing.

For more information, read:

1.  Motivation and Goals:  How to Set and Achieve Goals and Inspire Others by Jim Cairo (1998) at http://www.amazon.com/Motivation-Goal-Setting-Jim-Cairo/dp/1564143643.

2.  Goal Setting and Self Directed Behavior Change by David A. Kolb and Richard E. Boyatzis (2011) at http://www.amazon.ca/Goal-Setting-Self-Directed-Behavior-Change/dp/1178802795.

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Unlock Your Potential

"The potential of the average person is like a huge ocean unsailed, a new continent unexplored, a world of possibilities waiting to be released and channeled toward some great good." (Brian Tracy)

Some scientists claim that we only use 10% of our brain.  However, in recent years, other scientists have argued this point.  Nonetheless, many scientists would agree that humans have an unlimited capacity to learn.  "No human brain has ever said 'hard drive full'", according to Neil Slade.  

Humans have unlimited potential.  It is only after we start to tap into that potential, that we realize how wide and how vast it is.  For instance, who would have thought 75 years ago that a runner would break the four minute mile?  Yet, in 1954, that's exactly what Roger Bannister did.  Who would have thought 50 years ago that the United States would put a man on the moon?  Yet, in 1969, Neil Armstrong planted his boot on its rocky surface. One hundred years ago, who would have thought doctors would find a treatment for diabetes?  Yet, in 1921, Sir Frederick Banting invented insulin. Back in 1898, weight lifter Georg Hackenschmidt bench pressed 361 pounds setting a world record. In 2004, Gene Rychlak became the first man to bench press upwards of 1000 pounds!

Humans continue to push the envelope:  Citius, Altius, Fortius...Faster, Higher, Stronger.  We continue to surprise ourselves with our new accomplishments.  We all have untapped potential.  Now is the time to tap into yours!

Georg Hackenschmidt circa 1900 courtesy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Hackenschmidt.

How to Fail Successfully

"The key to not failing is to fail and fail often."  (Max Londberg)

In his valedictory address, Max Londberg encouraged his fellow graduates to fail.  But shouldn't he be encouraging them to succeed?  He said that when we fail, we get rid of trivialities; we no longer worry about pleasing others.  We focus on the task at hand.  Some teachers and parents believe that children/students learn best when they are allowed to make mistakes, when they are encouraged to explore and to draw their own conclusions.  

One study suggests that children who believe that their intelligence is fixed, and that their success is due to their intelligence, do not react well to mistakes.  In fact, their performance on standardized tests dropped 20% over time.  The other group, who believed that their intelligence was not fixed, that it could grow over time, had a more positive reaction to their errors.  Their test scores increased by 30% over time.  

Look at successful historical figures who learned from their many mistakes and disappointments. Winston Churchill said:  "Success is the ability to go from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm."  He would know, given that he didn't even become Prime Minister of Great Britain until the age of 65.  He was well accustomed to failure, but not defeat (remember his "We Shall Never Surrender" speech?).  How about Abraham Lincoln who lost eight elections but was later elected to two terms as President of the United States?  Or how about Thomas Edison who failed 1000 times but created hundreds of successful inventions?  Or Henry Ford who failed and went broke five times before he got his Ford Motor Company up and running in 1903?

Learn the art of failure.  Embrace it.  You could be the next success story.

Note:  To read Max Londberg's graduation speech, click on http://www.huffingtonpost.com/uloop/my-graduation-speech-on-h_b_3365543.html.

Winston Churchill circa 1941 courtesy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill.

Nurture Your Creativity

"The grass is always greener when you water it." (Unknown)

Just as grass needs watering, our creativity needs nurturing.  If we neglect grass, it could become dry and brown.  If we neglect our creativity, our creative juices can also dry up.  Here are ten ways to stimulate our imagination.  

1.  Simplicity and creativity go hand in hand.  De-clutter your life.  If you surround yourself with clutter, your mind might also feel cluttered.  Clear the mind for optimum creativity.  

2.  Relax.  Go for a walk or take a long shower.  

3.  Meditate or pray to focus the mind.    

4.  Set up a supportive space to create.  Artists like lofts.  Find a room where you feel comfortable and where you can find the tools you need to be creative.

5.  Exercise your creativity by getting the creative juices flowing.  Brainstorm.  Keep your internal editor at bay.  Embrace your imperfection.  Don't be too quick to veto your ideas.  Write them down. What might seem silly might actually work with a little tweaking.  

6.  Find a hobby.  Pursuing a hobby helps clear the mind and get the creative juices flowing.

7.  Visit nature.  Beautiful scenery and fresh air can also stimulate the brain.

8.  Read every day.  Be inspired by other people's ideas.  

9.  Be curious.  Be observant.  Employ the five senses.    

10.  Have a purpose for your writing, painting, sculpture.

Note:  Read The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron.  For more information, read my post at http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2013/06/june-18.html.

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